I (heart) Valentine’s Day

Christmas is long gone …. the new year is a week old … which means it’s almost Valentine’s Day! I love making Valentines to send to my besties, so let’s get this party started!

This one-layered card is relatively easy, and the reveal (when you pull of the mask) is so much fun! I created a heart mask, which I placed in the middle of my cardstock. Then I used some small flower and leaf images to stamp around the mask. Easy peasy. When I removed the mask, ta dah — a heart-shaped spot to stamp a sentiment! The sentiment above is from Stampin’ Up’s Bloomin’ Love set, as are some of the flowers.

Here’s another in the same mode:

I could do this all day! The XOXO is a Teresa Collins/Fiskars punch.

Fabulous Finds Friday: WOW! Pearly Powder!

Wow, I’ve been having fun playing with WOW! new pearl embossing powder, which is especially effective on dark paper.

Check it out:

I used five different colors here, all pearl: red, violet, green, white and blue. (And don’t you love that big background stamp? Also from WOW!) I stamped the background using VersaMark ink, then sprinkled on the various colors to get the mixed effect.

Here’s a closer look that catches the light:

The piece is mounted on a shimmery blue-ish card. “Happy” (from Technique Tuesday) was die cut twice from a silver shimmer scrap and mounted on top. So easy.

Next, I wanted to try the powders on light card stock — a very different look. I wasn’t crazy about my first attempt:

 

It actually looks better in the photo because the background looks darker (not white) and I let the light reflect, but in reality, it was too faint for me. (In my next post, I’ll show how I used it in another way on lighter card stock.) So I added some watercolor just to see what would happen: (Not my best watercoloring efforts! Sheesh.)

Here’s a detailed look with reflecting light:

I punched the XOXO several times (from a Fiskars punch), stacked the pieces and glued them together using ScraPerfect’s Best Glue Ever. Because I stupidly punched the extra XOXOs from white paper, when they were stacked you could see the white edges. To fix that I colored the edges with a black permanent marker. And of course added that necessary touch of shimmer … black Wink of Stella from Kuretake/Zig. I don’t use the black often, but when I need it, well … )

I’ll have some other experiments in my next post. Thanks for stopping by!

Fabulous Foiling!

Yes, I am obsessed with foil. I didn’t do a lot of foiling when it first became big because I didn’t have the right tools (including access to a laser printer for printing and foiling).

But my discovery of therm-o-web‘s wide selection of foiling capabilities rocked my world! And I’ve been foil crazy since then.

I started my experimenting by using my Fiskars XOXO punch (see here for more on this punch. My first experiment was to use the punch on  ToW’s adhesive foam. (The adhesive was a tad thick for the punch, but I managed to not mangle it too badly. My foiling was not perfectly smooth, but that’s ok!)

The background was made using Magenta‘s Nuance, a water-soluble powdered coloring agent (similar to Brusho, Ken Oliver’s Color Burst, Cosmo Cricket’s Pixie Paints, etc.) The butterflies were cut from a wonderful new Donna Salazar/Spellbinders die, Cascading Butterflies, then stamped and inked with Ranger Distress Inks (Fossilized Amber, Abandoned Coral, Peacock Feathers, Shabby Shutters). A light mist of Ranger Perfect Pearls gives them a subtle sheen (hard to see here.)

My favorite so far is therm-o-web’s self-adhesive toner sheets. For this card, I first die cut the Stampin’ Up Rose Garden from the toner sheet, then foiled it (using ToW’s iCraft® foils and a Royal Sovereign laminator.) I cut the leaves off and foiled them separately.

(sentiment by Kaisercraft, gold embossed. Black panel cut using a Spellbinders’ Cele’bration pierced rectangle die)

Never one to toss out a scrap, I used the leftover sheet (the negative left after foiling the rose die) to create this:

(Sentiment by Technique Tuesday).

I’m obsessed, so there are more foiled projects to come! Thanks for stopping by.

 

Fabulous Finds Friday from Fiskars

(Wow. How many times do you get to write a five-F sentence???? Without using a dirty word?)

Anyway … For cutters, scissors and punches, Fiskars is still golden.

Fiskars has a tool for every need, but my focus is usually on those that are particularly useful for paper crafters.

For example, it was punch lust at first sight when I saw this adorable XOXO punch:

This was perfect for Valentine’s Day cards — so fast and easy. But I see more uses. I have several weddings coming up and I think this could be a card making winner. Here’s a quick one I made, inspired by some scraps on my desk:

(The sequins are from Lawn Fawn.)

The punch was also perfect for some foiling:

(I am somewhat obsessed with foiling since I’ve been playing with various foils and adhesives from Therm O Web. But that’s another post…. stay tuned. The background embossing plate on the above card is the grid folder from Spellbinders. Love it.)

At the Januray CHA show, crafters of all types were checking out the new Paper Trimmer with Aluminum Cut Rail*.

I sometimes get a little wobble with smaller personal trimmers, so this should be a boon to my cutting. The reinforced aluminum cut rail (with a locking system) promises to eliminate cutting wobble – which is a problem with my old personal trimmers. (Or maybe it’s me? Either way, this one is a delight.) Other nice features include a paper clamp/smudge guard (something else I need!), a self-leveling extension arm that stretched to 15 inches, and an extra wide base for a bigger work space.

(Here’s my big admission — I was recently working on a small, crowded desk and put the trimmer on my lap so I didn’t have to move to a larger, cleaner work table, assuming I could find one. I know, I know … lazy crafter. Don’t judge. But the good news this, this is so sturdy, it still cut fine with just my flabby thighs for support.)

More exciting Fiskars punches are in the works.

*Fiskars was kind enough to send me this cutter to try. 

Fabulous Fiskars Fuse

I needed a quick gift for a friend and decided some letterpress-like gift tags would be just right.

Using my Fiskars Fuse, I was able to make more than a dozen tags in a about 20 minutes:

The Fuse (which I wrote about in this post) cuts, colors and creates a letterpress impression in one fell swoop. I use regular inks — pigment or dye (although a well-inked pigment pad seems to give better coverage).

Here’s a closer look:

The bad news is, Fiskars is no longer promoting the Fuse and I couldn’t find it on the Fiskars Web site. The good news? The Fuse is still available online, just search for it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Fabulous Finds Friday — Fiskars Tag Maker

I love, love, love making tags. There is something so appealing about decorating tiny little surfaces. Having a creative slump? Try making a few tags as a way to prime those creative juices.

The new *Tag Maker Punch from Fiskars is right up my alley. I love that the punch has three functions: it punches the tag shape, punches the hole, and sets an eyelet. Cool, huh? No annoying hammering.

Look what I made in about 10 minutes (it took me longer to find paper scraps than it did to punch these!):

I used mostly scraps to make these tags — and we all know how much I adore using my scraps! These tags are fairly simple and quick to make. But you could easily stamp and embellish to make tags with more flair.

There are currently four tag shapes: the rounded top one I show above, a traditional tag cut (like a shipping tag, on my wish list!), and two curvy label-tags with holes on two sides. The tags measure about 2″ x 3″ and the punch handles cardstock up to 80 lbs.

The Tag Maker accommodates two sizes of eyelets: 3/16 and 5/32. According to the company, these are among the brands tested that work: Recollections (Michael’s store brand) 3/16, ColorBok 3/16, Dritz 5/32 and Sewology 5/32. I have not tried any others (because I have to dig them out! I got so tired of having to hammer them in, I stopped using them! This will solve that problem.)

I also love that the Tag Maker perfectly centers the hole.

Here are some closer looks:

These were stamped using whatever was handy on my desk, including scraps from other projects (like the bright neon tag!)

These have some chipboard embellishments (an old K&Company set).

Love these tags made using leftover watercolor paper that had been colored with Ranger’s Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stains (another must have product).

And finally, look how I used up old greeting cards:

For more info, check out the Fiskars video here.

*Disclaimer: This product was provided to me to test by Fiskars.

Hearts and Flowers

Another little Valentine’s Day card:

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The resist technique is the same I used for a previous post (white emboss text, then using a reverse mask to ink over the text). Bazzill Basics paper; Hero Arts text and sentiment stamps; Fiskars heart punches; ColorBox chalk ink.

Texture-ific Day Two

I have only began to scratch the surface of texture!

Today is all about my experimentation with letterpress. Letterpress is so old-school, so rich, so yummy! Unlike heat embossing, which gives a raised surface, letterpress “de-bosses” or presses INTO the paper. The best papers for letterpress are those that are a bit thicker. The letterpressed image should not show through to the other side.

In a July 6 posting (here), I introduced the new Fiskars Fuse, a letterpress machine that die cuts at the same time it presses. (here are the tags I posted:)

(Yes, I reversed the process for the blue tag — I ran the tag through so that the design was pushed UP, then I sanded the raised area to give more definition. This won’t work with EVERY letterpress plate, but will with some.)

So then I had to play with the Epic Letterpress by Lifestyle Crafts. Again, such a beautiful outcome. Check it out:

Is that fabulous or what? So lush! Although special, thicker letterpress ink is suggested, I just used some pigment inks because I wanted the colors.

Here’s another:

And a round tag, die cut on the Epic:

Am I done? No way! Stay tuned for more texture fun.

Thanks for stopping by.

Fabulous Finds Friday — Fiskars Fuse

Wow… how often can you write a headline with all Fs?

Hot off the press today is this letterpress. My Fabulous Find is a new letterpress machine from Fiskars. Called the Fuse Creativity System®, this bad boy cuts, colors and letterpresses in one fell swoop. Weighing 25 pounds, it’s no lightweight; it’s sturdy. The 12 inch platform offers plenty of space — including a built-in storage compartment, which I adore — and the whole contraption folds nicely to a compact, upright position.

Take a look:

And closed:

You know how impatient I am (I want to play NOW!!) so I loved that I could use it right out of the box, since the kit comes with everything you need to get going. You can die cut, letterpress, emboss or do a combination. It handles other dies, such as those designed for Cuttlebug, Vagabond and BigShot, but you will need a Fuse Adapter Kit (sold separately.)

I had a chance to try the Fuse (*see disclaimer) while writing an article for Crafts ‘n things about texture (watch for the article in the October issue!). The kit I tried comes with two adorable tag dies and plates. These were so easy to make because they cut at the same time they letterpressed. One pass and I had one of these:

I used the dies two ways: on the right, the black butterflies were letterpressed (pressed into the cardstock). I inked the plate using the black ink that came with the machine. Yum …  (I have since played around with various pigment and dye inks, which seem to work just fine.) The paper, by the way, is a slightly textured, thick paper from Paper Source. Sadly, the blush pink color I used is discontinued, leaving only Luxe white and cream. Love this paper for letterpress. But I digress….

The blue tag (made using a textured paper from Core’dinations) I did the opposite way, using no ink, so I got a raised impression on the front. I lightly sanded it to bring out the core color of the cardstock. This is a fun way to get double duty out of some designs (be careful with words or letters!)

Can you stand two more? Same process — inked up and letterpressed the right way for the pinkish tag; reversed and not inked for the blue tag:

(papers are the same: Core’dinations and Paper Source.)

Sigh. Now I want more dies. I want to play some more with this machine. See the demos here.

Thanks for stopping by!